Ruther Glen, VA
I saw a young man, in his early twenties I should say, walking along I-95 near North Carolina. I see hitchers on the interstate fairly frequently, especially now that the weather is nice. They are invariably men in their 30's or 40's and look as though they have every worldly possession on their person. Their clothes tend to be shabby and they are unkempt. This guy was clean cut and comfortably dressed with only a simple backpack on. This was my initial impression based on the half-second I wandered from my survey of the road. Then I spared him a second glance and realized he was carrying a 8 or 9 foot cross on his back. I was like, alright. The guys making a statement. Good for him. I would never deny anyone the right or opportunity to express their feelings, worldview or personal opinion, so long as it is orderly and lawful. More power to him, I thought, whatever his vision. Then I noticed something which totally took me out of the moment. The cross had wheels. Come on man. That's cheating. Oh, well. I suppose it's the thought that counts.
Later that day, I passed a pickup hauling a trailer upon which rested a 10 foot tall, 8 foot wide ice cream cone. No ice cream. Just...the cone... O_o
I'm glad to see President Bush is actually stepping up the debate in the immigration issue. It shows me that he does, in fact, know how to engage in public discourse on the issues facing our country. I agree with most polls, however, that in terms of importance, immigration should take a back seat to the economy, terrorism, the war, fuel prices and public corruption. Now, if we can get him to open up and talk about these other keynote issues, perhaps we would have a better idea of where he's coming from and what he intends to do.
I had a long talk recently about the state of the presidency with my mother. I come from a long line of diehard Republicans. I voted for President Bush both times. And would do so again. Did I have reservations? Certainly. Especially the second time. But I don't regret it. Have I been satisfied with his performance? No. Not entirely. He hasn't been the leader I would have hoped for.
The biggest cause of concern for me has been a blatant disregard for the need of the American people to know what the president is thinking. The Bush administration has incredibly poor communication skills at seemingly every level. Not only with the people, but within the adminstration itself, hence the hurricane FEMA fiasco, the mixed communication following the Cheney shooting incident and countless other incidents where the White House's right hand didn't seem to know what its left was up to.
This is, perhaps, the only unforgivable sin a president can commit. The people of this country want a president who they
perceive as a strong leader. This idea must be constantly reinforced. If the public ever feels that the president has lost touch with them, he's finished.
Take President Reagan. They didn't call him "The Great Communicator" for nothing. He was a master at making the American people feel comfortable with him and how he intended to go about the business of the country, no matter if you agreed with him or not. This essential skill can cover for a lot of mistakes. I think history will judge him, perhaps, as a better president than he actually was because of it. President Clinton might have even been better at it than President Reagan. They had the ability, like every great president, to persuade the American people to
perceive them favorably. In fact, if there had been no Monica Lewinsky, I think President Clinton would already be hailed as one of the all-time greats.
The common, supreme quality of every great leader is the ability to convince you, through word and deed, that they
are great leaders. President Bush, like his father before him, is sorely lacking in this quality and if he ever dreams of having a succesful presidency, he must find it. The American people yearn to be led. In the absence of effective leadership, they'll listen to whoever is talking. The Anti-Bush rhetoric is at a fever-pitch and drowns out all attempts by the White House to proclaim their vision for America. Some of this is genuine questioning of the President on a variety of issues and I'm all for that, but most of it is harsh, mean-spirited, partisan, personal attacks by malcontents who are so desperate to find someone to blame for their lot on life, they'll hop on the nearest convenient bandwagon that can provide them someone to spit on, rather than tending their own garden. Before we run off and start railing on the President, congress and our state and local officials and kicking them while they're down, perhaps we should ask ourselves this question. What have I contributed to the common welfare? What is my portion? What have I brought to the table? As for myself, I can only offer a dead-end job I despise, a failed marriage and 40 large of personal debt. What do you have to show for yourself? Perhaps we should, as a people, cast out the beam from our own eye, before attending to the mote in our neighbor's.
It may be too late, but President Bush has three years and I remain optimistic that he can achive great things. I must. So must we all. Like him or not, voted for him or not, he is our president and what constructive purpose does it serve other than to ask honest questions, voice our concerns and then hope and pray for the best?
Any Questions? Any Comments? Be Quiet as You Go...
